Disclaimer: Twilight and the characters are the property of Stephenie Meyer.
I only own the plot of this story.
Chapter 37 Six of Swords
Characters Edward, Bella, Alice, Rosalie, Emmett, Kitty, Jasper, and Carlisle
Bella POV
The Big Bear Lake Cruise on Miss Liberty was wonderful until Kitty and I felt a little ill from motion sickness. Edward drove us back to the cabin first and then left to pick Alice, Emmett and Rosalie up from the brewery. Edward came back carrying Alice in his arms with Emmett and Rose dragging their feet behind him from the alcohol in them.
"What's wrong with Alice?"
"Drunk," Edward said and laughed..
"Would you two like some coffee?" I asked Rose and Emmett.
"Thank you, Bella. We'd love some," Rose said and smiled.
"Go make yourselves comfortable in the living room, I'll bring the coffee over."
I went back to the bedroom after I delivered the coffee to Rose and Emmett. Edward joined me after he tucked Alice in bed up in the loft.
"I feel like I suddenly fathered several kids," Edward laughed.
"Awww, it's not so bad. At least none need diapers except this one soon," I said and pointed to my stomach.
"It's different. I want to change Matthew's diapers," Edward said and kissed my stomach.
"You're going to be a great Dad," I said while I ran my fingers through his hair.
"You think?"
"You're so wonderful to Kitty already. Of course you're going to be a great Dad."
"I can't wait till Matthew is born. Can I be in the delivery room?"
"Edward! Of course I want you to be in the delivery room. You can handle it though, right?" I joked and chuckled.
"Bella, you know I'm a doctor, right?" Edward said and tickled me. "Matthew, you're Mom is such a silly girl," Edward whispered to my stomach. "Hurry up little boy, I can't wait to see you and hold you in my arms. You're so precious and I love you. You're the most important person in this whole wide world," Edward rubbed his cheek on my stomach and kissed.
As soon as those words slipped out of his mouth we heard a loud sob and when we looked up we saw Kitty run out of our bedroom crying.
My eyes met Edward's and I saw sheer panic in his eyes. Edward helped me off the bed and we both went running down the stairs after Kitty telling her to stop. I couldn't run very fast and Edward made sure I didn't fall down the stairs. Before we reached the bottom of the stairs we saw Emmett and Rose fly past us and out the door after Kitty.
"Bella, you need to stay here. It's too cold out. We'll find Kitty and bring her back."
"I have to go, Edward. I can't just sit here and wait. I'm her mother."
"And I'm her father. Bella, I'm not asking you. I'm telling you that you need to stay here. She might come back here on her own and you need to be here for her. I also can't risk you falling or catching a cold while searching for Kitty outside."
I wanted to argue with Edward, but he was right. Having Edward explain this to me was only delaying his search for Kitty. I nodded and kissed him. "Please bring her back to me safely."
"I will. Keep warm and go wake Alice up," Edward grabbed his ski jacket and ran out the door.
As soon as Edward was out the door I went to wake Alice up. I told her that Kitty was missing and Alice shot out of bed. "What did you say?"
"I'm not sure what happened but when she saw Edward talking to the baby she started crying and ran out the door. Emmett, Rose and Edward went after her," I explained to Alice.
"I'm going to go and join the search," Alice said and grabbed her jacket.
Before I could stop her and ask her to stay with me here, Alice was out of the loft running down the stairs. She was so fast I couldn't believe that she was asleep drunk just minutes ago. She definitely sobered up quick after hearing that Kitty was missing.
I was alone and scared. The last time I felt this alone and scared was the day that Stephen passed away. I felt the tears rolling down my cheeks. I tried to convince myself that Kitty was fine and that Rose, Emmett, or Edward was bringing her back to me safely.
I really wanted to go out to join them to search for her but if she returned to the cabin and didn't find anyone here she would be scared and feel abandoned. I couldn't do that to her.
I wanted to call Edward to ask how the search was going, but stopped myself that it would only delay the search if they hadn't found her yet. I paced around the foyer waiting for a call or someone to run through the door with Kitty.
I had to keep busy or I was going to go crazy from worrying. They were all out in the cold. I decided to warm some soup so they could all have something warm when they returned. I heated up the canned soup and made another pot of coffee. It had been half an hour since they left the cabin, but I hadn't heard back from them yet.
I started to pace around the foyer again when I suddenly heard my name being called from somewhere outside.
"Bella! Bella! Help me!" I head Alice shout my name.
I ran to the door and when I opened the door. I found Alice dripping wet and carrying Kitty in her arms. Kitty was dripping wet as well and there was no color in her face and her lips were blue.
I grabbed Kitty from Alice and saw her pull her phone out while I ran to the bedroom to lay Kitty down. My baby was freezing cold and wasn't moving much except for her chest rising up and down a little very slowly. She was breathing and she had a pulse but it seemed to slow down.
"Edward! I found Kitty in the lake. She's ice cold and her lips are blue! What am I supposed to do?" Alice yelled into the phone with tears running down her cheeks. "Okay… okay… okay… bye," she said and hung up the phone. "Bella, keep an eye out for Kitty's pulse and breathing. Strip Kitty's clothes off and dry her with a towel. Wrap her in some blankets. I'll call 911. Be gentle with Kitty. Do not move her around too much. Edward said we needed to try to avoid getting the cold blood to circulate back to her heart too quickly." Alice said as I went flying to the bathroom to grab some towels and the rest of the items Alice told me to get.
When I got back to the couch Alice had already taken Kitty's wet clothes off and she grabbed the towels from me and started to dry Kitty off. I was just too shocked and couldn't move as fast as Alice. I failed as a mother. I was supposed to protect her. I was supposed to keep her from harm's way.
I felt Alice shake me. "Bella, snap out of it. Call Emmett and Rose to get back here," Alice commanded me. I nodded and went to grab my phone.
Right as I finished calling Rose to tell her that Alice found Kitty, Edward flew through the door and ran towards Kitty. Alice backed away from Kitty and let Edward check her out.
"Alice, stand by the door and look out for the ambulance," Edward instructed to her.
10 minutes later the ambulance arrived and Edward went with Kitty to the hospital while I rode with Emmett, Rose, and Alice after Alice changed into some dry clothes. She was so busy taking care of Kitty that she neglected to take care of herself. Up until now she was still in the soaking ice cold clothes from jumping into the lake to pull Kitty out of the water. Everything was just happening so fast I couldn't even have time to argue with Edward that I wanted to go with him. He just said the ambulance ride would be too rough on me and to trust him to take care of Kitty.
"Bella, trust Edward. She's in good hands. The people at the hospital are used to these accidents. They are properly equipped to handle Kitty." Rose said and rubbed my back.
When we got to the hospital, Rose ran into the hospital to find out what was happening with Kitty while Emmett went to park the jeep. Alice wrapped her arm around my waist and forced me to slow down to get to where Rose stood so that I don't slip on the way there.
I felt dizzy and my legs felt weak. Rose and Alice helped me to the waiting room and settled me onto the couch. Emmett came into the waiting room shortly after. Both Rose and Alice had their arms wrapped around me and kept telling me that everything was going to be okay. I could only imagine the worst. Things never turned out okay for me. I was cursed with death. First were Mom and Phil, then Dad, and then Stephen. One by one all my loved ones were taken from me. Soon Kitty and most likely Matthew right after her. Just thinking about what would most likely happen next my chest felt constricted and I could hardly breathe. In the background I could hear faint voices calling out my name while my world turned black.
Alice POV
"Bella!!!!" I screamed and I saw Emmett run out of the waiting room. A minute later he returned with several nurses with him. Emmett pulled me off Bella and a stretcher was brought in and Bella was quickly wheeled out of the waiting room.
"Stay here," I was shaking. I felt dizzy and wanted to throw up. Rose commanded in a very stern voice and ran out of the waiting room. I wondered where she went.
I didn't know what to do. Bella was my best friend. I should've taken better care of Bella. I should have kept Bella and Kitty safe. I should have been the one following her stretcher. Not Emmett. I needed to talk to the one person who always calmed my nerves. I pulled out my phone to call him.
"Jazzy?"
"Hello, darlin'. How's the trip?" When I heard his voice I felt a little calmer but I couldn't stop the tears that rolled down my cheeks. When I sniffled I heard Jasper's panicked voice. "What's wrong, baby? Are you hurt?"
"Kitty…. Found her…. In the lake…Bella… fainted… I'm alone…hospital" I wailed.
"Darlin'? Something happened to Kitty and Bella? Hang on darlin', I'm going to get Carlisle." In the background I heard Jasper explain to my Dad that something happened to Kitty and Bella and that they were both at the hospital.
"Alice? It's your father. Tell me what's going on. You're a strong girl, Alice. Just explain to me slowly."
"I heard water splash in the lake. When I ran to the lake I saw Kitty struggling in the water. *sniffle* *sniffle* *sniffle* I jumped in the water and got her out. *sniffle* sniffle* She was ice cold and blue, Dad. *sniffle* She's being treated right now. Edward is with Kitty. Bella got stressed out and fainted. *sniffle* She got wheeled out of here just minutes ago. Emmett went with her. I should have been the one to go with her. She's my best friend. I feel sick." I wailed and explained to Dad.
"Alice, listen to me. You did really good. I'm proud of you. Take a few cleansing breaths and try to calm down. You know how Emmett is. He's very protective. He probably wanted to make sure of Bella for Edward. Alice, do you feel okay? You jumped into the freezing water. Have a doctor check you out. I also need you to go to the reception desk and get me some names I can contact. Perhaps Chief of Emergency Medicine or Chief of Pediatric Emergency Medicine. I need some names so that I can contact Eleazar. I need him to contact the doctors there so that Edward can be involved with Kitty's case and that I can see Kitty and Bella's charts when I get there. I will try to be there as soon as I can. I'll make sure that Esme takes good care of Jasper. Hang in there, Alice. I'll be there soon."
I felt much calmer after talking to Dad. Ordinarily Jasper was the one to calm me down and make me feel better, but in this case since it involved knowledge in the medical field I needed Dad more than I needed Jasper.
I felt worse than I did since I arrived at the hospital. My whole body ached. My injuries after the accident that healed now hurt again. My head was also banging. I felt cold sweat trickling down my back. Even though I was sitting I had to grab the arm of the couch to keep my body from swaying.
My eyelids felt heavy and I could barely keep them open. I just recalled that Dad told me to have someone check me out. Maybe I was sick. The adrenaline that was pumped through my body was probably now depleting. Before I thought of getting up to find a doctor, Rose came rushing through the door with a nurse.
"Miss, please come with me. Let's have a doctor take a look at you," the nurse said and both Rose and the nurse helped me up from the couch.
Edward POV
I was extremely angry that the hospital staff wouldn't let me in while they treated Kitty. I knew Alice had gotten Kitty only minutes after Kitty fell into the water by the observation I made while I checked Kitty out before the ambulance arrived. Kitty was still breathing and even though her pulse was weak I was sure after the doctors treated her she would be okay. If Alice got to Kitty even a few minutes later, she could have had ventricular fibrillation or cardiac arrest. Statistically with the water condition in Big Bear Lake and the time Kitty was submerged in water Kitty's chance of survival would be very good since I didn't think Kitty was submerged in the water long enough to have severe hypothermia but since she was so small and thin anything was possible. Children lost body heat in cold water faster than adults. Kitty wasn't just a statistic. She was my daughter. I couldn't think like a doctor right now. While I paced in front of the entrance to where Kitty was being treated, a middle aged man approached me.
"Dr. Cullen? Dr. Edward Cullen?" The man asked me. I nodded to acknowledge.
"Dr. Cullen, my name is Marcus. I am on the board of governors at this hospital. Your boss, Eleazar, is a friend of mine. I received a call from him that one of his doctor's fiancé's daughter was being treated here and wanted me to make sure you and your father had free access here."
"Eleazar? My father?" I scratched my head. I was in such distraught that I couldn't understand what this Marcus guy was saying to me. He looked at me and understood that I wasn't thinking clearly right now.
"Follow me," he said and pointed to the lounge. After we sat down he started to explain to me. "I got a call from Eleazar explaining to me that your fiancé's daughter was in an accident and was brought here for treatment. He told me that he received a call from your father that you were here and probably needed clearance so that you could be involved in the treatment. As soon as I got here just minutes ago, I was not only informed about your fiancé's daughter being treated, but that your fiancé and your sister was being treated as well."
I interrupted him. "Bella and Alice are being treated? Are they okay?" I started to panic. I had no idea something was wrong with them. Now that I felt a little more collected, I could understand that Alice could be sick. She jumped into the cold water and stayed in her wet clothes. I was too worried about Kitty that I had completely ignored that Alice needed to be taken care of as well.
"Your sister is running a high fever but we think that's the only problem so she should be fine as soon as her temperature is down. Your fiancé felt dizzy and she fainted. It was probably caused from stress and rapid rising of blood pumping through her system. It's nothing to worry about. It's not uncommon during pregnancy. She just needs to take it easy. She was dehydrated and her blood sugar level was low so she's being treated with I.V. fluids right now. The baby is fine. Their hearts are being monitored. I can take you to your sister and your fiancé or you can go and see your fiancé's daughter. Your fiancé's daughter is being treated with an intravenous line with warm fluids to raise her body temperature since she wasn't able to do it on her own. They are also administering warm and humidified air through oxygen mask. The doctors are sure that would be all your fiancé's daughter needs. It was very good that your sister rescued her so quickly. Oh, and Eleazar told me that your father is on his way here as we speak."
"Thank you Marcus. Would you please take me to my fiancé? I'd like to check on her before I check on Alice and Kitty," I said to him. There wasn't much I could do for Kitty as she was in good hands.
"She's in here. Your sister is that room," Marcus said and pointed to the room beside Bella's. "I'm going to go and check on your fiancé's daughter. I'll see you there," Marcus said and left. When I opened the door to the room Bella was resting, the first thing I saw was Emmett sitting beside the bed holding Bella's hand with a worried look on his face.
"Hey, Em. Thanks for taking care of Bella for me," I said to Emmett as I walked towards the bed.
"Don't mention it. I'm just glad Rose caught her before she hit the floor. Rose is with Alice now. I was so caught up with Kitty I had totally forgotten that Alice had also gone into the water."
"Em, you're not the only one. I was so worried about Kitty and Bella that I totally forgot about Alice too. She was so actively moving around and taking care of everything it slipped my mind that she needed to be taken care of too. It was just probably adrenaline that kept her going. She's still weak from the accident. I'm surprised her arms and legs were strong enough to jump into the water and carry Kitty back to the cabin. Jasper is going to be so mad at us that we neglected Alice."
"I think he'll probably beat himself up that he was sick and wasn't here to take care of her before he even thinks of beating us up. Thank God for that." Emmett's words didn't really comfort me. I'm a doctor. I should have been able to recognize who needed medical attention and take hold of the situation. "Sit with Bella. I'm going to go and check on Alice and Rose," Emmett said and got up from the chair.
"Oh, by the way, Dad's on his way."
"What? How did Dad find out?"
"I don't have a clue. He evidently called Eleazar, and Eleazar called his friend, Marcus, who's on the board here. I just met him. He's with Kitty now. I didn't even think to call Dad or Eleazar. Maybe Rose called Dad?"
"I don't know. I guess I'll find out when I talk to her," Emmett said and left the room.
I leaned in and kissed Bella's forehead. She was asleep but looked really tense. Her brows were furrowed. I sat down in the chair and took her hands. I brought them to my lips and kissed them. I gently rubbed my thumb over them and tried to soothe her. She looked so tired and worn out. She looked so frail. Her breathing was steady and thankfully both Bella's and Matthew's heartbeat were strong.
I felt defeated. I could have lost Kitty, Bella, and Alice. I still had no idea what prompted Kitty to cry and run out of the cabin. I was just lying on the bed with Bella and talking to Matthew. Bella and I didn't even notice Kitty was in the room until we heard her. I couldn't wait to talk to Kitty to correct what I did wrong.
I heard a soft knock on the door and when I answered Rose popped her head in. "I can watch Bella for you. Would you like to go and check on Kitty? Alice is fine so you don't have to worry about her right now. She's asleep from the medication she was administered so you can't talk to her right now anyway."
I looked at Bella again. I really didn't want to leave her side, but she would want me to be with Kitty since she couldn't. I thanked Rose and left the room. Instead of going directly back to check on Kitty, I decided to call Dad.
"Hi, Dad."
"Hello, Son. How is Kitty and Bella?"
"Bella and the baby are fine. She's being treated for dehydration and low blood sugar. Kitty is being treated. I just wanted to call and thank you before I checked on her. Marcus, Eleazar's friend, is keeping an eye on her for me. Alice has a high temperature but she already got treated and is currently asleep."
"I'm glad to hear that the situation is handled well. I'm glad that Alice called."
"Alice called? She's the one who called you?"
"Well, not exactly. She called Jasper. Jasper handed the phone over to me after Alice told him that Kitty and Bella was being treated at the hospital. After I got the details from Alice, I called Eleazar for help. I'm glad he had a friend there. I'm only a few miles away from Big Bear. I should be there shortly."
"Thanks for everything, Dad. I'm not functioning. I'm a doctor and I neglected Alice. I only thought of Kitty. As a doctor I should have been able to determine who needed to be taken care of. I'm so sorry I even got you involved."
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Edward. You didn't neglect anyone. At that moment, you were Kitty's father, and not a doctor. No one thinks you are responsible for everyone. If Alice thought she wasn't well, she would have asked for your help. Even I thought Alice was fine when she called but just in case there was anything wrong with her, I told her to get herself checked out. They are all going to be fine. Right now you need to be there for Kitty and Bella. Alice has Emmett and Rose. I'll be there soon too. Hang in there, son. You're doing great."
"Thanks Dad. I don't know what I would've done if you didn't step in. Please call me when you arrive at the hospital."
"I will. I'll see you soon, Edward."
I went to the information desk to ask where Kitty was. They told me she was moved to PICU. When I got there, Marcus was leaning in front of the entrance of the PICU. "Thank you for watching her," I said to Marcus as I approached him.
"Oh, I'm glad you're here. She just got moved here about ten minutes ago. She's doing well. Her body temperature is back to normal now. The doctors didn't see any complication, but just wanted her in PICU to make sure."
"Thank you so much. My father should be here very soon. I just talked to him and he was only a few miles away from Big Bear."
"It would be an honor to meet the great Carlisle Cullen. I never got the chance to meet him. I've heard a lot about him through my colleagues and Eleazar. Now that you're here I think I'll go and talk to the Chief of Staff here to notify him about you, and that your father will be joining you shortly. If you need me just ring me or tell one of the staffs at the desk so they could locate me," he said and gave me his business card.
It never ceased to amaze me how highly regarded Dad was in the medical community. To me he was just Dad. I went to check on Kitty and looked at her chart. Everything looked good. They didn't find anything wrong neurologically either although we wouldn't be absolutely sure until she was conscious and talking again. From all the tests they ran there shouldn't be any complications. She still looked pale but she looked much better. Probably better than expected all thanks to Alice for rescuing her when she did.
I sat by the bed and held her little hand and tucked her hair behind her ear. I traced my thumb over her cheek. There were tear marks and some dirt on her face. I got up and found a nurse and told her that wanted to wipe Kitty's face. She told me she would take care of wiping Kitty's face but I insisted on doing it myself. After I finished cleaning Kitty's face, I decided to go and check on Bella again. When I came out of the door I found Rosalie looking for me.
"Oh good. Just the person I wanted to see. How are you holding up?"
"I'm okay, all things considered. Thanks for everything, Rose."
"Hey, we're all family. I did nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, I made some calls and extended your stay at the cabin. Emmett needs to leave tonight though. I can stay. I cancelled all my appointments so I can help you guys."
"I'm so sorry, Rose. I don't want to inconvenience you. You should leave with Emmett. I think Dad and I can handle things."
"Come on, Edward. Like I said. We're family. Family supports each other through crisis. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else but here. Emmett wanted to stay but he couldn't. He tried though."
"Thanks, Rose. I really appreciate it. Thank you for extending the stay at the cabin. It would have been bad if we had to check out of the cabin tomorrow." My phone rang and when I checked the caller ID, it was Dad.
"Hi, Dad. Where are you?"
"Hello, Edward. I just finished parking. I'm at the hospital now. I'm on my way to the lobby."
"Great. I'll see you at the lobby."
"Carlisle is here already?"
"Yeah. He's on his way to the lobby now. I think he left immediately after he made the call to Eleazar."
"Great. I'll come with you."
We found Dad walking through the entrance when we got to the lobby. Dad wrapped his arms around Rose and me and gave us a hug.
"I'm glad you guys look okay. Who should I go see first? Kitty? Bella? Alice?"
"Emmett is with Bella right now since I'm here. Maybe we should check on Alice first since Edward was just with Kitty?" Rose suggested.
We all agreed and went to see Alice. When we got to the room, Alice was awake with a frown on her face.
"Hello, Sweetheart. Are you feeling better?" Dad asked.
"NO! I hate hospital gowns. I look horrible. When can I be released?" Dad chuckled.
"Looks like you're doing fine since you're already complaining," Dad said and kissed Alice's cheek.
"Dad, please go and talk to someone so that I can change back into my clothes and get released from here."
"All right, all right, Sweetheart. I'll go and talk to the doctors and see what's going on." Dad said and chuckled again.
"Do you want me to go and ask the doctors instead?" I asked Dad.
"I want to find out about Kitty and Bella's status too so I think I'll go and talk to them myself," Dad said and left the room.
"Alice, thanks for everything. You saved the day!" I said and kissed her on her forehead.
"Am I forgiven for ruining your romantic Valentines evening with Bella then?"
"Oh God, Alice. Were you still worried about that? Of course you're forgiven. It wasn't even on my mind anymore. Without you I could have lost Kitty and if you didn't call Jasper, Dad wouldn't have known and he wouldn't have called Eleazar for assistance. You saved the day, Alice. Things would have been a mess if you didn't do all that you did. You're my heroine."
"Ooooh, I like the sound of that," Alice said and smiled. "So, what do I get for saving the day then? How about giving me the right to plan the wedding and the baby shower?"
Alice was definitely better and back to her normal self now. I owed everything to her for what she did for me today so I couldn't say "no" to her.
"All right, Alice. Just don't go overboard."
"Yeah!" She squealed and Rose and I just laughed.
"All right, I'm going to go and check on Bella," I said and left the room.
Carlisle POV
When it rains, it pours. Esme was under the weather, Jasper suffered from the flu, Bella was dehydrated and had low blood sugar level, Kitty had a mild case of hypothermia, and Alice had a high fever which after speaking to the doctors I found out that it was actually from the flu she probably caught from Jasper and unrelated to today's incident.
I was proud of my children. They all had grown up to be wonderful adults. They were kind, loving, responsible, and caring. They also supported one another and loved each other. I thought of Rose, Jasper, and Bella as my own too. Today's incident made me see how much they all cared for each other and how strong their support system was. They had each other to lean on.
I was proud of Edward. He no longer just acted the role of father. He was the father. He clearly thought of Kitty as his own and reacted like how a father would in time of crisis when your own child was in danger.
I was proud of Alice for risking herself for Kitty. In crisis she was the strongest. I was also extremely proud of Rosalie. She wasn't the one who rescued Kitty but she was the one who made sure everyone was all right. She kept her eye on Bella, Edward, Kitty, Emmett, and Alice. She was the mother bear. She was probably the one closest to Esme when it came to taking care of the family. She was the one who took care of details that were overlooked and ones that never got praised for because they were less obvious. She never asked to be praised or thanked.
I quickly made my way to check on Kitty. I sat down in the chair beside her bed. The color was back in her cheeks. I smoothed her hair and kissed her forehead. When I took her hand her eyelashes fluttered. I realized that Kitty was now regaining consciousness. She slowly opened her eyes and squinted. I took my hand and made a shade over her eyes so that the lights do not hurt her.
"Kitty, it's Grandpa. Open your eyes slowly."
"Grandpa?" She asked opening her eyes and looked like she was trying to focus.
"You're safe now. You're in the hospital. Your Mommy, Daddy, Auntie Alice, Auntie Rosalie, and Uncle Emmett are all here. Don't be scared."
Kitty turned her head towards me and smiled at me. "Would you like me to go and get your Daddy?" I saw a frown on her face when I asked. Kitty shook her head.
"Daddy doesn't love me. He loves the baby."
"Kitty? Is that why you ran away? You thought your Daddy doesn't love you anymore?" I asked and Kitty nodded. "Oh baby, your Daddy loves you so much. He looked really sad that you got hurt. Kitty your Daddy loves you and the baby both very much."
I could see a pout form on Kitty's mouth. She shook her head. "Daddy loves the baby," she said with tears in her eyes. "I want my Mommy," Kitty said and cried.
"I'm sorry Kitty, I know you want your Mommy but she's not feeling well. She's sleeping in the hospital bed. I can get your Daddy instead."
Kitty shook her head. "I want my Mommy, I want my Mommy," she said and sobbed.
I called for a nurse to stay with Kitty in fear that she might have a panic attack. I wasn't sure if Bella was awake or even if she was even in a condition to get out of bed. I went to Bella's room to find Edward. When I got there I saw both Edward and Emmett by Bella's bed. Bella was awake but she looked really pale and weak.
"Hello, Bella. How are you feeling?"
"I'm feeling better. Thank you for coming here. I'm sorry you had to leave Esme's side."
"Don't mention it. You're my daughter and there is nowhere I want to be but here beside you, Kitty, and Alice. Esme has Jasper right now so all is well but I need to steal Edward for a moment," I said to Bella and caught Edward's eyes and signaled him to step out of the room.
"What's wrong, Dad?" Edward whispered as soon as we were out the door.
"Kitty's awake and asking for Bella. I know why she ran away. Kitty thinks you don't love her anymore. She thinks you only love the baby now."
"Oh my God. Is that what she thinks? I was talking to the baby but I never meant to say I only love him. Dad, what am I supposed to do?"
"Well it seems like Bella is in no condition to get out of bed. Go and talk to Kitty. Tell her you love her. She's a smart girl. She'll understand," Dad said and patted my back.
Edward POV
I rushed to PICU to see Kitty. I was so happy to hear from Dad that she was finally awake but the news about her thinking that I didn't love her was heartbreaking. When I entered the room her eyes twinkled but as soon as she recognized that it was me and not Bella, she turned her head the other direction so that I couldn't see her face.
"Princess, I'm sorry I hurt you. I really love you. I love you, your Mommy, and the baby very much. Please look at me, Princess." I felt awful. I was the reason Kitty was in PICU. My careless words hurt her. I felt tears rolling off my cheeks. I failed as a father. She neither felt loved or protected. "I love you baby, please forgive me. I need you. Can I still be your Daddy?"
Kitty turned her head towards me but had a frown on her face. She looked sad and heartbroken. She chewed on her lips and stared at me. She had tears in her eyes and they spilled over. I brought my hand to her cheek and wiped the tears away. I took her hand and kissed it.
"Don't cry," she said softly and squeezed my hand.
"I'm so sorry I hurt you, Princess. I really love you so much. I wish I was the one who was sick and not you. I'm sorry you are in the hospital because of me. Kitty, I love you. You are very precious to me."
Kitty stared at me but I saw a twinkle in her eyes. It wasn't the usual twinkle. "Can I have new dresses for baby?" She asked raising her brow.
Ooooh. Right. I just had Alice shake me to allow her to plan the wedding and now I had Kitty shaking me to buy her dresses for her bitty baby doll. Do all the female species do this or is it just the females I'm around? It seemed like they all did. All my previous girlfriends, my sister, and even my mother always got something out of me when I wronged them. Bella was the only one who never tried to get anything out of me. I couldn't help but laugh though. I was going to be forgiven by just buying dresses for her baby doll.
"As soon as we are back in LA, I will take you to the bitty baby store. Now can I kiss you?"
Kitty smiled and nodded. I planted a sloppy kiss on her cheek and Kitty laughed and wiped her cheek. I slid my arm behind her neck and rubbed little circles on her shoulder. While we talked about what she wanted to do on our date I saw the door open. Bella entered the room on a wheelchair pushed by Dad. I saw her smile and she looked relieved when she saw Kitty and me smiling.
"Kissed and made up?" Dad asked smiling and I nodded. "I got permission to have Bella visit Kitty for five minutes and then I need to wheel her back to her room."
I got up from the chair and Dad and I helped Bella out of the wheelchair and had her sit in the chair beside Kitty's bed. Bella had tears in her eyes. I thought she was going to kiss and cuddle Kitty but was very surprised to see what she did next.
"Kitty, don't ever do this to me again. Do you understand? You had everyone worried. Auntie Alice dove into the cold water to save you. Your Daddy, Auntie Rosalie, Uncle Emmett was really worried sick about you. Even Grandpa had to come all the way here leaving Grandma and Uncle Jasper at home to be with you. Don't ever leave the house on your own. Do you understand me?" I had never seen Bella act so strict to Kitty. Kitty was sick in a hospital bed and had just only regained consciousness. She was in no condition to be scolded. Kitty cried. When I was about to interrupt Bella, Dad stopped me and shook his head.
"You'll learn soon. Parenting isn't an easy task. You need to be strict sometimes. I don't quite agree that this was the time or place to discipline Kitty but I can understand where Bella is coming from. Kitty was all Bella had until she met you after Stephen died. She could have lost Kitty today. This is Bella's way of showing how much she loves Kitty and how important Kitty is to her," Dad whispered into my ear.
"I'm sorry," Kitty said and sobbed.
"I love you baby. I don't want to lose you. Baby Matthew needs you. Your Daddy needs you," Bella said and pulled Kitty closer to her and kissed her.
I had a lot to learn about parenting. Dad was always the strict one when I was bad and Mom was the sweet one but she always supported Dad's decision when disciplining us. Once we were back in LA I probably should discuss with Bella and set some guidelines on what is acceptable and what isn't so that we were on the same page.
"Well, Bella, I'm sorry but your five minutes is up. I'll stay with Kitty. Edward can wheel you back to your room."
"Be a good girl for Grandpa," Bella said and kissed Kitty before she got up from her chair. Dad and I helped her back into the wheelchair. I kissed Kitty and told her that I'll be back to see her later.
I helped Bella back into her bed. Her doctor came in and checked on her. "You're doing much better. I can release you today or if you'd rather spend the night here I can release you tomorrow morning."
Bella looked at me with pleading eyes. "Let's get you released. I can take care of you back at the cabin. If you want to be released then you can't stay here,." I said to her.
"Cabin," Bella said to me.
"All right then. I'll have someone bring you the papers to sign," the doctor said and left the room.
"Let's get you dressed. We'll go and see Alice and then go and see Kitty. Emmett needs to leave tonight but Rose is staying so I'll ask Rose to stay with Alice and Dad with Kitty."
"How about Rose takes me back to the cabin and you stay with Kitty and Carlisle with Alice. Rose must be really tired."
"That would be a great idea if you weren't lying in this bed half an hour ago. Your blood sugar level need to be monitoried. Rose wouldn't be able to take care of you properly if your blood sugar level dropped again. So it's either going to be me or Dad taking you back to the cabin. Since Alice is also hospitalized I think Dad would want to stay here though."
"You're right. I can understand Carlisle wanting to stay here with Alice. Okay. Let's go and see Alice and then we'll say good bye to Kitty. Emmett drove me here and you came on the ambulance so I guess we'll have to go back to the cabin on Emmett's jeep. Rose can get a ride with your Dad tonight."
We went to Alice's room and informed Rose and Emmett that we needed Emmett to drive us back to the cabin. I told Emmett that I'd help him check out of the cabin and move Rose's things to mine. I spoke to Alice's doctor and was told that she could be released tomorrow as long as she was in Dad or my care. After we were back in Kitty's room I informed Dad about Alice. He said that he didn't think it was a good idea for Alice to be around Bella so he told me that he would take Alice back home to LA tomorrow after she is released. Rose could ride Alice's car back to LA tomorrow and Bella and I would stay at the cabin until the day they release Kitty.
Emmett looked sad that he had to leave Rose behind but said that he was glad that Bella, Kitty, and Alice were much better now. I thanked Dad for taking care of Kitty for me and we kissed Kitty goodbye. On our way back to the cabin we stopped by to pick up some burgers and fries. Emmett looked thrilled and so did Bella.
"Damn, I didn't realize how hungry I was until now. I could probably eat like five burgers," Emmett said and we laughed at him.
After Emmett left, I tucked Bella into bed. "I was really scared when I heard from Eleazar's friend that you were also being treated. I didn't like it that everyone kept referring to you as my fiancé and Kitty as my fiance's daughter. I want you to be my wife. I want people to call Kitty my daughter. Bella, let's get married before the end of this month,"
Bella looked shocked. She opened and closed her mouth repeatedly trying to form a coherent sentence. "Edward, there's only less than two weeks left this month. Is it even possible?"
"I'm sure Alice can help us organize everything. It'll just be us and our family."
"If that's what you want then I'd be happy to get married to you as soon as we can decide on a day all of your family members can attend," Bella said and kissed me.
A/N
I hope you liked this chapter. It wasn't the usual humorous chapter but I wanted to do something to show how serious Edward was as he took on the role of Kitty's father. Also I've been painting Alice too vain lately so I needed to redeem her character to how I started her character as in the beginning of the story.
I'm sorry it took me a while to update this story. I went back to work full time from February 1st and I've been too exhausted to sit down and write. I think I finally got the hang of my new schedule so I should be able to update regularly now.
Please leave me a review so I could know if you liked this chapter or not. I think this was the longest chapter I've written for this story. I hope it wasn't just long but enjoyable for you all.
Next chapter will be the wedding.